5 Facts About New Toronto Maple Leafs Coach Sheldon Keefe’s Journey to the NHL

1) He had a short stint playing in the NHL

Like many coaches, Sheldon Keefe also played in the NHL. (Although Mike Babcock never made the NHL, and wasn’t drafted).  (Hockeydb.com).

Keefe was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning 47th overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, after a great 1999 season with the Barrie Colts of the OHL.

In his last year of junior, Keefe scored 121 points and 48 goals in just 66 games.

He might not have had a great NHL career, but getting drafted so highly (or at all) is a great accomplishment nonetheless.

He would go on to play a total of 125 games with the Lightning, accumulating 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points during that time.

In 2004, he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes, but never played for them, bouncing around the AHL instead.

He retired from playing after playing four games with the Utah Grizzlies of the AHL in 2004.

2) He owned a Junior ‘A’ hockey team

After his career ended, Keefe decided to purchase the CCHL’s Pembroke Lumber Kings, a Junior “A” ice hockey team in Pembroke, Ont. and become both their head coach and their general manager. (Sportsnet,ca).

This was his first true start in coaching and the managing part of the job also gave him all the needed experience to properly evaluate players.

Impressively, he led this team to five straight league championships and ultimately the RBC Cup in 2011.

In 2013, he sold the team to former NHL player Dale McTavish.

Going from a failed NHL career to owning a junior team is an unconventional way to break into a career as a coach, but it seems to have worked out well for Keefe.

3) He and Kyle Dubas have worked together for years

In 2012, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL were run by none other than Kyle Dubas, who at the time was a young general manager in his 20s who worked his way up.

After missing the playoffs for two straight season prior, Dubas’ forward thinking singled out Keefe as his choice for the Greyhounds new head coach.

Keefe went on to lead the team to three straight playoff appearances, two division titles and one conference title.

Dubas left the Greyhounds in 2014 for the Toronto Marlies general manager job.

This was right in the middle of Keefe’s tenure as coach of the Greyhounds. However, Dubas decided the two couldn’t be apart for too long, so in 2015 he hired Keefe as the Marlies head coach.

Now, their journey together has come full circle, all the way up to the NHL. That’s three levels of hockey, juniors, AHL and now NHL, where Dubas has hired Keefe to be his coach.

4) He was very successful with the Toronto Marlies, winning the 2018 Calder Cup

Keefe has found success in all levels of coaching and his stint with the Marlies was no different.

Prior to this season, his record with the Marlies was 189-87-20-1 over four seasons as head coach. That’s a very impressive record. Immediately after taking over, he led the team to 54 wins as they marched all the way to the third round of the playoffs.

He would continue to lead the Marlies to more successful season, but his best season would come in 2017-18, where he led the team to 54 wins again, ultimately capping it off with the Marlies’ first Calder Cup championship.

Earlier this summer, he signed a well-deserved two-year contract to remain the Marlies head coach.  It was rumored that the Leafs gave him NHL money to stay in the AHL so that they wouldn’t lose him to another team.

He’s been so successful with the Marlies, it’ll be interesting to see how this translates with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

5) He is already quite familiar with this Toronto Maple Leafs team

Being the head coach of the Marlies, the Leafs AHL affiliate, obviously will make Keefe have some connections with the Leafs players.

But as Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star pointed out on Twitter, he’s already connected with many of the Leafs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a team built through their farm system. Brenden Shanahan has always stressed the necessity of good drafting and good development, so it only makes sense that the coach developed through the system is the one who should lead these Leafs.

So the keys have been given to Keefe, now we patiently wait and see what he does with this Maple Leafs team.

Although turning this team ‘s season around right away will be a tough task, Keefe should get a few years before he is properly judged.

After all, Marlies general manager Laurence Gilman once said, “He’s one of the best up-and-coming coaches in the American Hockey League.”